Andrei Kuzmenko

Andrei Alexandrovich Kuzmenko (Russian: Андрей Александрович Кузменко; born February 4, 1996) is a Russian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Andrei Kuzmenko
Born (1996-02-04) February 4, 1996
Yakutsk, Russia
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position Winger
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Vancouver Canucks
CSKA Moscow
SKA Saint Petersburg
National team  Russia
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2014–present

Playing career

Kuzmenko made his Kontinental Hockey League debut playing with HC CSKA Moscow during the 2014–15 KHL season.[1] In the 2017–18 season, Kuzmenko broke out as a 21-year old establishing career bests of 13 goals and 25 points in 45 games with CSKA. In helping the club reach the Gagarin Cup finals, he produced 4 goals in 15 games.

Approaching the 2018–19 season, Kuzmenko was traded by CSKA to fellow contending club, SKA Saint Petersburg in exchange for Sergey Kalinin on August 8, 2018.[2]

In his fourth year with SKA in the 2021–22 season, Kuzmenko increased his offensive output to over a point-per-game leading SKA in scoring with 20 goals and 33 assists for 53 points in 45 regular season games. He led the team in the post-season, continuing his scoring pace with 14 points in as many contests before losing in the Conference finals to eventual champions and former club, CSKA Moscow.

As an undrafted free agent and having gained NHL interest, on 20 June 2022, Kuzmenko was signed to a one-year, entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks.[3][4] He made his NHL debut on 13 October 2022 where he scored a goal in the eventual 5–3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.[5] He continued to produce steadily through the early parts of the season; on 3 November, he recorded his first career NHL hat-trick in a four-point game, as the Canucks took an 8–5 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. By this time, Kuzmenko had tallied six goals and four assists for 10 points through 11 games.[6]

Establishing himself as one of the Canucks top offensive contributors, Kuzmenko as an impending free agent opted to remain with the Canucks in signing a two-year, $11 million contract extension on 26 January 2023.[7]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Krasnaya Armiya MHL 49 5 7 12 8 — — — — —
2013–14 Krasnaya Armiya MHL 36 13 18 31 2 18 3 3 6 0
2014–15 Krasnaya Armiya MHL 37 20 21 41 20 13 4 10 14 0
2014–15 CSKA Moscow KHL 12 1 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0
2015–16 CSKA Moscow KHL 15 1 2 3 0 — — — — —
2015–16 Zvezda Chekhov VHL 17 2 4 6 2 — — — — —
2015–16 Krasnaya Armiya MHL 5 1 3 4 0 7 8 1 9 2
2016–17 CSKA Moscow KHL 34 6 9 15 6 1 0 0 0 2
2016–17 Zvezda Chekhov VHL 23 11 17 28 4 5 1 3 4 0
2016–17 Krasnaya Armiya MHL 3 3 0 3 0 13 11 13 24 6
2017–18 CSKA Moscow KHL 45 13 12 25 12 15 4 1 5 6
2017–18 Zvezda Chekhov VHL 7 5 5 10 2 — — — — —
2018–19 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 58 12 19 31 20 9 0 0 0 4
2019–20 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 49 14 19 33 6 4 3 1 4 0
2020–21 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 57 18 19 37 14 15 4 2 6 4
2021–22 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 45 20 33 53 10 16 7 7 14 12
2022–23 Vancouver Canucks NHL 81 39 35 74 8 — — — — —
KHL totals 315 85 115 200 68 61 18 11 29 28
NHL totals 81 39 35 74 8 — — — — —

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2013 Russia U17 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 1 0 1 2
2016 Russia WJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 0 0 0 2
2021 ROC WC 5th 2 1 1 2 0
Junior totals 13 1 0 1 4
Senior totals 2 1 1 2 0

References
  1. "Andrei Kuzmenko player profile". Kontinental Hockey League. March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  2. "SKA trades Kalinin to CSKA for Kuzmenko" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. August 8, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  3. "Top KHL forward Andrei Kuzmenko set to sign with Canucks". SportsNet. June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  4. "KHL star Kuzmenko to sign with Canucks". The Sports Network. June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  5. "Canucks' Andrei Kuzmenko: Gets goal in NHL debut". CBS Sports. October 13, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  6. "Kuzmenko nets first NHL hat trick as Canucks down Ducks". Sportsnet. November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  7. "Canucks reach two-year, $11 million extension with Kuzmenko". The Sports Network. January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
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